Visual schedules are a wonderful way to set your day up for success. They give children a clear idea of what the sequence and expectations of the day are. For young children and children with special needs, this is highly important. I've found that showing my kids the plan for the day helps our day run more smoothly. Today I'm excited to share with you my brand new visual schedule cards. And it's a free printable! This was designed to use with toddlers, but would also be great for … [Read more...]
How Play Impacts Children
It's alarming to see children spending less time playing each day. While researching for my new book, I read numerous articles about how play impacts children. Children's freedom to play and explore on their own has declined immensely in recent decades. With busy schedules and the overuse of screens, children are left with less time to simply play. Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links to Amazon. See my disclosure for details. This is so sad to me! Even though we do a lot of play … [Read more...]
Play and Learn Toddler Activities Book
Toddlers are a fun, but this age is also challenge! They are always busy. They love to explore the world around them. Learning and playing go hand in hand with toddlers. They are constantly growing and are easily captivated by the simple things in life. It doesn't take much to get toddlers excited! I think we can all agree that toddlers keep us on our toes! Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links to Amazon. Keeping toddlers busy is not always easy. If you've been a parent or … [Read more...]
10 Valentine Crafts for Toddlers
I love Valentine's Day! A day full of hearts, love and showing appreciation for one another is a wonderful thing. It's fun to do crafts with toddlers leading up to Valentine's Day. Today I'm sharing with you my favorite Valentine crafts for toddlers. These ten crafts are simple, engaging, and create beautiful products! Click on the links below to take you to the directions for each craft. Rainbow Heart Suncatchers from Fireflies and Mud Pies Heart Stamps from Rust and Sunshine You … [Read more...]
Cotton Ball Smash
If you have a toddler, you know that it's hard to keep them busy! They are either following you around, making messes around the house, antagonizing siblings, or trying to be "helpful" around the house. Today I'm sharing with you one of my favorite toddler activities. It's called Cotton Ball Smash and it's a great way to work on fine motor skills. Here's what you need for cotton ball smash: 1 cup of flour 1 cup of water whisk bowls food coloring tin foil baking … [Read more...]
The Most Important Thing to Teach Toddlers
Call me crazy, but I actually love the toddler age! Yes, there are days where I want to pull my hair out or close my bedroom door, but I love watching my children grow during these monumental years. The toddler years are such a time of incredible growth and learning. If you think about it, they learn so much from the time they are 12 months old up to 36 months old! As I've been playing with my toddler lately, I had a thought come to mind. And I believe it's such an important one, which is why I … [Read more...]
If You Give a Toddler a Sensory Bin…
If you have a toddler, you KNOW that they love to make messes! It doesn't really matter where they are are, they just love to take a part things, throw items, and get into cupboards that they know they aren't supposed to get into! Am I right??! While I was playing with my toddler the other day, I came up with a cheeky little story about what happens when you give a toddler a sensory bin. This story is similar to the book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. If you give a toddler a sensory bin, I … [Read more...]
Rainbows & Racecars — with Homemade Edible Paint {guest post}
I am delighted to have Amy from Wildflower Ramblings guest posting here to share a super fun and colorful activity! I just love her blog...you will find so many great learning through play ideas, which I love! Thank you, Amy, for this wonderful idea! :) Rainbows & Racecars {with homemade edible paint!} {This post contains affiliate links, please see my disclosure policy.} In our Tot School, we try to have at least one fun sensory activity per letter. For letter R, we have focused on … [Read more...]
Toddler Tuesday: Pumpkin Sensory Bag
Pumpkins are everywhere these days, so I thought it would be fun to incorporate pumpkins into our Toddler Tuesday activity this week! To start out, we took a pumpkin and discovered what was inside. After I cut off the top, Wes looked inside and wasn't so sure about touching it... ...so brave big brother came to the rescue! After a while, Wes decided it didn't look too bad, so he helped scoop out the pumpkin guts and seeds. This was a great sensory activity!! They were able to squish the … [Read more...]
Toddler Tuesday: Stamping with Apples
I love Toddler Tuesdays! It is so fun coming up with ideas for my toddler. This week we are doing an apple theme, so I decided to do some apple stamping with my kids. Last year, we did this stamping activity and it was a hit. This year, I wanted to do something a little different. To start off, I sliced 3 apple into slices that were about a 1/2 inch thick. Then I took a pampered chef fruit cutter and cut out 4 shapes: heart, flower, triangle, and square. You could also use small cookie … [Read more...]
